Thinking about quitting nursing school..

So I'm in my second semester of the nursing program and I feel as if I'm not cut out to be a nurse.. This is my second time taking the courses and if I fail then I'll be out of the program.. For a while now I feel like my heart hasn't been into the profession anymore... Exams are what's getting to me... My grades have been so low this time around despite how much i study.. I like clinical and actually doing something & taking care of patients.. But I know in order to really help people I need to know the material. The program I'm in does not teach us. Our lectures consist of PowerPoint presentations created by everyone in the class, so we basically teach ourselves.. I miss actually learning something in class but it feels like I'm just memorizing material instead of actually understanding it. Many students in second semester either fail, dropout the program, repeat or just quit nursing all together because of the structure of the program.. I'm worried about my next step if I don't make it... and what I should do... If anyone has some advice, it'd Be greatly appreciated...

For a moment, think about what you would do for an alternative line of work if you turn away from nursing. If you can not think of something that you can get excited about, perhaps your best bet is to tough it out. Nobody says you have to work as a nurse once you obtain the license, but having the license presents you with a means to support yourself if necessary.

Apr 22

Sounds like you need to find another program, not another profession. Power Point by death is no way to learn, especially if they are complied by the students. What kind of learning is that?

Apr 22

Use Kahn academy videos to supplement the power points! Or find other lectures on youtube to help. Meet with other classmates to study together and create a study guide. It sounds like you really want to do this, so I think you should stick with it!

Apr 22

Should I transfer do a different school then? I dont Know any schools that's I could transfer to.

Apr 22

Have you tried practice questions? That helped me a lot. I recommend Saunders nclex review RN, and lippincott q & a RN. They have questions as well as rationales. Also go online and search for questions. Try getting an app as well. These could help with your grades.
As far as quitting nursing, I would say, you have come this far, why give up now. You say you like clinical and helping patients, that's what nursing is about: helping people. I would recommend you carry on. Do you know people who have passed the semester? maybe they could help. Ask them what study skills they used. Get a study group- with caution- don't go where there's no studying getting done.
Nursing school is truly difficult everywhere you go.

Apr 23

I was Looking into hospitality but if I do that it'd Be a whole 180 on my life.. But it's something I do excited about. Thinking about being here for another year makes me feel horrible..

Apr 23

I have a med Surg book and a nclex book and I use those for practice questions..

Apr 23

I don't really have an exact answer for you, but maybe nursing might not be for you. I hate to say that because I've had it said to me and I knew it wasn't true, but if you are only in your second year and it's already difficult, its only going to get harder. I have a best friend whos in the same program as me and she sounds like you. She studies forever and memorizes stuff, but isnt grasping the concept. For me, the application comes easy. If you like helping people, maybe something like physical therapy, respiratory therapy, sonogram tech? if you like the medical field. If it makes you feel horrible, maybe try to teach yourself. Do you get the powerpoints before class? I print them out and fill in the info prior to class and then add to it during lecture. A lot of nursing school is self-discipline. You need to learn how to manage time and teach yourself.

Apr 25

How do you study?

Apr 28

Many of us have questioned ourselves during nursing school so don't jump to conclusions yet. Some students understand the information and do wonderfully in clinicals but the tests questions seem to trip them up; this does Not mean your not cut-out to be a nurse. If this is you, it's probably your methods of studying for the tests. Be open to trying different ways of learning-I was fond of diagramming everything then finding a patient in clinicals that was "textbook" perfect for that condition/diagnosis. I did a TON of nclex book questions on the topics we were studying prior to my tests too.
keep your head Up-You can do this!!!💪🏼

Apr 28

Hi Champagneg, I have stumbled across your post and I want to say to you that I can tell that you are a survivor. The thought of asking for help from others is what makes a good nurse to a great nurse. That is because many of us can sometimes make early judgement and think that we know everything. But as Shakespeare says "A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool" I am not calling you a fool or anything but this is one of the reasons why we have a lot of medical misdiagnosis in the world today. I have also struggled in LVN school and wanted to give up so I feel what you are feeling and know what you are going through 100%.

I see that you are asking for advice and are open to resources so I can see that this is your second time taking this course. You enjoy clinical (which tells me that you do not hate nursing and found something you like within the scope of practice) but have a challenge with nursing exams. You have a program that uses powerpoints and you have a med surg book and nclex book to practice questions but yet have a low grade in the class. Is this correct? Please forgive me if I am wrong. What stands out to me the most is this is your second time taking this class. Again i applaud you for not giving up on yourself and now asking for help. The only question I would ask myself would be what caused me to not ask for help sooner and how can I get better equipped to be successful before I take the class again? Going to another school may or may not help because you may end of in the same situation? So its not about changing the location or environment and instead changing how to use the tools you need in this environment.

The big take away is as a future nurse you will always have to learn new things with little resources. (take your first job for instance) You may not be able to quit so easily and go to another job as many nurses on here have poured there hearts out about how hard it is to find a job. You just need the right support system and ways to help you use the tools you need.THERE IS A LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL Not passing exams have many factors which you have not shared too much such as do you have a strong knowledge in sciences(patho and A&P), do you understand the nclex test plan on nscbn website, do you know how to answer nclex questions and reword the question, do you have a strong knowledge in nursing fundamentals (ABC and ADPIE).

Here are three great books I recommend. Two of the books you can get from the library. One you can get free online somewhere. The Kaplan strategies book is great at teaching how to answer nclex questions and reword the question. Get really good at this FIRST. Then build on more test taking strategies. Did you know that every nclex questions focuses on certain principles that you can beat the nursing exam at its own game? It all goes back to bloom taxonomy- knowledge, understanding, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, evaluating, client needs ( safe and effective care, health promotion, etc) reduction risk,etc) Saunders test taking strategies book is great because it gives you insight on the principles that every nclex question. Even breaks it down to topics. so you can ask yourself. what is the topic of the question? Last is la charity pda book. Great for understanding ABCs. Last to brush up on A&P and patho (Youtube is great) These books are worth while because many nurses have used these same books I have recommended to pass the nclex after graduation.